1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an accommodation case that accommodates a disk-like recording medium such as a CD, a DVD, game software, or the like.
2. Related Art
A disk-like recording medium such as a CD has a thin disk-like outer shape and a small round hole at its center that is so formed as to penetrate through the disk. The disk-like recording medium is accommodated in a thin accommodation case. The accommodation case includes a box-shaped main body having the widest surface on a base side and a cover having the widest surface on a cover side. The cover is connected to the main body through a connection portion and can cover the main body.
The disk-like recording medium is fitted to a holding portion formed at the center of the base of the main body in such a fashion that the base is fitted into a hole formed at the center of the disk-like recording medium. Various forms of the holding portion are known. However, the holding portion must satisfy the requirements that the disk-like recording medium fitted at its center hole to the holding portion does not shake but remains stable, does not naturally fall off from the hole and can be easily removed at the time of removal.
“Apparatus for Holding a Compact Disk” disclosed in US 20030052024A1 employs the following construction. The device includes a base, radial direction arms flexibly cantilevered from the base and extending inward and disk engagement means formed at an inner end portion of each arm, for engaging with a center hole of a disk in such a fashion as to be capable of releasing the center hole and for supporting the center portion of the disk in a spaced-apart relation from the base. Each of the arms includes first rotation means positioned inside a region in which it is connected to the base and second rotation means positioned inward relative to the first rotation means in the radial direction. When the disk engagement means is pushed down towards the base, the inner end of each of the arms and the center portion of the disk are pushed down towards the base. Each arm first rotates with the first rotation means as the center and then keeps its rotation with the second rotation means as the center until the holding force of the disk by the disk engagement means is released.
The disk is fitted while its center hole engages with the engagement means. To remove the disk, the engagement means engaging with the hole must be pushed from above to release it from the hole. When the engagement means is pushed, however, a load acts simultaneously on the disk and the disk undergoes deflective deformation. As a result, the disk is sometimes broken when it is taken out. In case the engagement means is loosely fitted to the center hole of the disk to make it easier to remove the disk, however, the disk falls off by itself under the accommodation state.
Such problems similarly occur not only in “Apparatus for Holding a Compact Disk” of US 20030052024A1 described above but also in “Apparatus for Holding a Compact Disk” disclosed in US 20020130056A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,068A, respectively.
On the other hand, a disk holding device that fixes an outer peripheral edge of a disk is also known. For example, “Disk retainer” disclosed in EP 0886278 A1 includes a pair of arc locators for forming a substantially round open portion into which a disk is fitted, disk engagement means having a support member and a clip member and means such as a leaf spring for biasing the disk member and causing it to engage with the clip member.
When the disk is fitted to this disk holding device described above, an inserting direction becomes necessary to hook the disk on the support member. To release the disk, the clip member having a lever is pushed to disengage the disk. However, according to such a two-point structure, the problem arises that the disk is likely to become unstable when it is fixed and released.
The accommodation cases of the disk-like recording medium according to the prior art are not yet free from the problems described above. To solve these problems, the invention aims at providing an accommodation case of a disk-like recording medium that keeps a disk-like recording medium accommodated under a stable state without shaking and makes it possible to easily remove the recording medium.